


Festival

by Chunky_Squirrel



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Himuro is his sweet cinnamon roll babysitter, Kanto Festival, MuraHimuSummerWeekend, Murasakibara is a giant purple tsundere child, Pre-Slash, Yosen dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 20:09:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4450550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chunky_Squirrel/pseuds/Chunky_Squirrel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Murasakibara and Himuro go to the Kanto Festival during summer break. Many snacks are consumed and goldfish scooped. Feelings may or may not be involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Festival

**Author's Note:**

> This was a part of the MuraHimuSummerWeekend on tumblr. It's also my first KnB fic. Please enjoy.

"Heeeey, Muro-chin, you're walking too fast."

Murasakibara was very aware that he was in fact, easily keeping pace with Himuro. At over two meters tall, it wasn't difficult to keep up with anybody. That didn't mean, however, that he watually wanted to walk at a normal person's speed. That took too much effort, and he hadn't eaten enough to merit any sort of effort. Of course, Himuro was practically running up the path ahead, so that meant Murasakibara was walking at a normal pace. It was annoying.

"And you're walking too slow," Himuro sighed, though he did slow down a bit, much to Murasakibara's relief. 

The weather was pleasantly warm, though he could tell cooler weather would soon be on its way. Summer was short in Akita, and as a result, summer vacation was shorter than the more southern regions. Murasakibara didn't want to waste his vacation doing something. It should be a time to do nothing except eat snacks, sleep, and practice basketball. He supposed homework was also important, but he didn't really care all that much for it, and so long as he passed, there wasn't really any reason for him to put much effort into it. He was never going to be the top of the class, and no amount of studying was going to change that, so he saw no reason to try. As long as he could keep winning at basketball, everything else was inconsequential at best. 

"The crowds are just going to slow us down when we get there, so there's no reason to hurry," he whined. "Why are you so excited anyways?"

"Because, this is my first real Japanese festival. I spent most of my life in America, and never really got to go to one, until now," Himuro explained patiently. He smiled pleasantly enough at Murasakibara. "And this is supposed to be a big festival for here, right? Why wouldn't I be excited to see it?"

That made sense, Murasakibara supposed, but it didn't change the fact that they were rushing too much, he didn't have enough snacks, and Himuro's enthusiasm was kind of annoying and something else he couldn't identify. He brushed off that feeling, deciding it didn't merit further attention, and yawned. 

"Besides, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can get something to eat," Himuro continued. "I'm sure there's going to be plenty of delicious snacks."

Now Murasakibara remembered why he hung around this guy. Himuro knew what mattered, and despite being a bit on the annoyingly passionate side, he was completely willing to indulge Murasakibara's love of snacks without judgement. Nothing could ruin a perfectly good snack like somebody lecturing him about eating too many snacks. There was no such thing as too many snacks. Himuro understood this. Therefore, Himuro was okay to be around. 

"Hmm, true," he conceded. 

Weighing his desire for snacks against the effort required to get there, Murasakibara came to the only logical outcome. 

"Ah, Atsushi! Wait up!" Himuro called out to him. "Now you're moving too fast!"

First he was too slow, and now he was too fast. Himuro really needed to make up his mind. Murasakibara was moving at exactly the right speed to reach those promised snacks. While it wasn't too difficult to catch up and keep pace, Himuro wasn't exactly short either, but Murasakibara recognized the faster steps Himuro needed to take in order to match his stride. It sounded as it did on the court; perfectly in rhythmn. 

"I can hear the crowds already," Murasakibara said with a small scowl. "Everybody is so loud at these things. It's not that exciting...except for the food. I want cotton candy."

He glanced at Himuro at his side, who simply smiled and assured him that they would stop at the first stall with cotton candy, and he would even buy it for him. The bustle of the street a little less annoying when he was accompanied by such a reasonable person. In reality, the crowds didn't matter too much to Murasakibara, because most people made an effort to get out of his way. The most difficult part, and the most annoying, was making sure he didn't step on any small children. They were always getting underfoot, and Murasakibara didn't want to be responsible for kicking a child. The mess that would cause would be tedious and annoying. 

"Wow, it really does look like all the pictures I've seen," Himuro grinned. "Oh, and there's cotton candy."

Himuro glided through the crowd, not waiting to see if Murasakibara was following. He was, of course, but it was nice that Himuro actually meant what he said. As promised, he stopped in front of the stall, which already had a line. That was fine. It wasn't too long yet, and the vendor was taking the time to spin the sugar around the stick. Cotton candy was tasty no matter what, but cotton candy spun on a stick made it extra tasty. Not to mention, much easier to eat than eating it out of a bag. 

As they were standing in line, Murasakibara heard some giggling coming from behind. Rolling his eyes, he knew they had to be fawning over Himuro. Ever since he transferred to Yosen, Murasakibara noticed an increase in female attention on the basketball club when Himuro was around. Apparently, it carried over into the regular day. He could hear rapid, excited whispers, and of somebody being pushed who didn't want to be pushed. It was a familiar sound, and it was annoying to be thinking about basketball during his time off, and while hanging out with Himuro, outside of basketball. It needed to stop. 

"Muro-chin," Murasakibara drawled. 

When Himuro looked at him, he tilted his head towards the girls behind him. Looking curiously over his shoulder, Himuro suddenly smiled and Murasakibara grit his teeth at the sound the girls produced. 

"Umm, I just wanted to say that...your yukata is really nice!"

"Thank you," Himuro replied. "But it's really nothing compared to yours. You both look so lovely in those colors."

It confounded Murasakibara that Himuro can sound so sincere. Sure, girls generally looked kind of cute all dressed up in flowery yukata, but there wasn't really anything interesting about them; nothing worth complimenting them with anyways. It wasn't as if they managed to look as good as Kise-chin did in his stupid magazines. And it was definitely not worth the effort to keep the conversation going, regardless of whether or not he was actually participating in the conversation. Besides, Himuro was supposed to get him cotton candy, not pay attention to a couple of tittering girls. 

"Heeey, Muro-chin, we're next in line," he interrupted the conversation, not the least bit guilty about startling the girls. He also felt no guilt at leaning forward and resting his chin on top of Himuro's head, while tugging on his sleeve. 

Even though he couldn't see his face, Murasakibara could feel Himuro lightly shake his head, and knew he was getting an eye roll for his actions. But it had the desired effect. The girls quickly apologized for intruding, and wished them a happy time at the festival. There was something a little odd about how they didn't seem particularly put out by being snubbed, and if anything, they were giggling even more, especially when they shifted their gaze to him as well. With a shrug, Murasakibara stood straight again, and was pleased when Himuro also returned his attention to more important matters.

Once he got his cotton candy, Murasakibara was far more content to simply follow Himuro wherever he decided to go. He stopped to look at all the colorful character masks, even joking that he should make Murasakibara wear one. Murasakibara told him there were better things to buy, like more food. Himuro laughed and moved on to the next stall. Along the way, they came across more food stands, and Murasakibara eagerly bought all the snacks. At one point, he had enough snacks where he had no way to hold anymore, and he needed Himuro to start carrying some of them. 

"Say, Atsushi? I'm not sure we're going to be able to carry anymore," Himuro observed. He motioned vaguely towards the back of Murasakibara's obi. "And I'm not sure candied apples are usually placed there."

"But where else am I supposed to put everything?" He challenged. "It's fine."

Himuro looked like he disagreed with that sentiment, but before he could most likely suggest Murasakibara find another way to carry everything, he paused in front of another stall. 

"Oh, goldfish scooping," he pointed out with a grin. "I've always wanted to try it. I think I did it once when I was little, but I don't really remember it. Come on, I want to try."

Goldfish scooping was fun, and Murasakibara wanted to see how good Himuro was. The guy seemed to be pretty talented at most things, so it should prove to be interesting to see. He followed behind, adjusting the snacks he was carrying, ready to take all the snacks Himuro was holding for him so he could focus on the game. It was a little awkward balancing all of the snacks, but he managed to not drop anything, and let himself have the best view of the game. This was going to be interesting to watch.

Only, Murasakibara suddenly had a feeling this was going to be interesting in not a good way. He was concerned about how stiffly Himuro was holding the paddle, and the general look of uncertainty on his face. He hopelessly chased after the fish, moving far too slow, and when he started to increase the speed of his movements, Murasakibara knew it was over. Sure enough, the paddle broke after his second attempted scoop. But he didn't give up. He paid for another round, and was met with the same outcome. It was kind of interesting how disappointingly bad Himuro was at this game. 

After his third paddle broke, Himuro finally stood and gave up with a sheepish grin.

"This is a lot harder than it looks," he said, just this side of defensive. 

At least, that's what it sounded like to Murasakibara. But he could care less. Everybody couldn't be good at everything, and Himuro seemed to realize he couldn't play the game at all and wasn't going to keep trying, even though Murasakibara wondered if he wanted to do otherwise. It would have gotten awfully annoying if he had kept going because there was no way he would have learned how to scoop even a single goldfish. 

"You're also really bad at it," Murasakibara stated as he took a large bite out of his choco-banana. "Your technique is all wrong."

"And your technique is better, I suppose?" Himuro challenged. He pointed to Murasakibara.

"Of course it is," he replied around a mouthful of choco-banana. "And they're just goldfish. It doesn't matter that you're horrible at it. You're good at basketball, and that's more important."

"I think a compliment was in there somewhere. And don't talk around such a big bite of food. You're going to choke," he admoished.

Murasakibara took a very large bit of the choco-banana. 

"You're impossible sometimes," Himuro sighed. But then, he flashed that annoyingly fond smile he sometimes got when he talked about things he cared about. "And you're right. It's just goldfish, but it would have been nice to get one, as a memento of going to pretty much, my first festival, and with my first friend I made in Japan."

He really did say some of the dumbest things. Murasakibara couldn't actually believe he would say that about a festival that came around every year, and to talk like that about him. He hadn't exactly made a meaningful effort to be friends. It had just happened as a result of being the two aces of Yosen High, and Himuro was simply the one teammate that was tolerable to be around. They needed a good rapport, so it was only natural to stick together. And there was probably a really good reason why it was just a matter of convenience to be hanging out together outside of school and practice, but Murasakibara couldn't come up with one at the moment. However, that didn't mean there wasn't one. So that's why he hated seeing that smile after failing miserably. Himuro should be smiling because he won. That's what mattered. And that's why Murasakibara wasn't going to let him get away with it. 

"Muro-chin. Hold these," he ordered as he was already shoving everything into Himuro's arms. 

Reaching into his sleeve, Murasakibara slid an elastic band off his wrist, and used it to tie his hair back. He handed the vendor his last 100 yen, and impatiently motioned for a paddle. 

"Just remember, it take skill and a gentle hand to catch the fish," the vendor instructed. "Try not to use too much force."

Muraskibara narrowed his eyes, and made sure to stand straight as possible. He knew what people tended to think when they looked at him. It's how everybody looked at him. Normally, he couldn't care less about what others thought about him and his size; it took too much energy to care about them, but there was a point when the patronizing words reached past his apathy. It happened when they doubted him at something he knew he was very good at.

"Give me the paddle. Your words are annoying, I will crush you," he promised, and then tagged on more as an after thought, "At this game."

"Ah, Atsushi, you're being a little intense right now," Himuro mentioned with a wary chuckle. 

Yes, he was obviously intense right now. The vendor was talking down to him when his and Himuro's pride was on the line. That was unacceptable. 

"Give me a paddle," Murasakibara ordered. 

One was handed to him immediately by the vendor who was now taking a few slow steps away and bowing in apology. Satisfied with the situation, Murasakibara crouched down and studied the school of gold fish before him. There was no way he was going to lose. He was great at this game and his victory was certain. 

And in a rather anti-climatic show of force, he easily filled the bowl to overflowing with so many fish. On any other occassion, catching the most fish he could fit in a single bowl wasn't all that interesting since he could do it every single time he tried. But this time, he was surprised at feeling proud of his accomplishment, even though it wasn't any different than the other times. 

"Wow, Atsushi, you weren't joking about technique," Himuro said with wide eyes. "That's a lot of fish."

That comment shouldn't have made Murasakibara feel as pleased as he was. He stood up with a stretch, tossed his unbroken paddle to the vendor, and pulled off his hair tie. As he slipped it back on his wrist, the vendor began dumping the fish into a bag of water. 

"I just want two," Murasakibara instructed. 

The vendor didn't question him, or even look up at him. He simply transferred two fish into the bag as quickly as possible and handed it to Murasakibara with a tight grin. 

"Thanks," he said as he took the fish from the vendor.

As they walked away, Murasakibara grabbed most of the snacks from Himuro. When they came to a section with less people pushing past them, Murasakibara stopped, causing Himuro to stare at him curiously.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Do you need to rearrange the snacks? I can take some more if you want."

Instead of passing him some snack though, Murasakibara held out the bag of fish, resolutely looking off to the side. 

"Here. Now you have some goldfish," he mumbled, fidgeting with the snacks in the ensuing silence.

"Ah, I think you somewhat missed my point, but thank you," Himuro finally said. "That's very considerate of you. How about we get a bowl for them tomorrow after practice?"

It was against his better judgment, but Murasakibara chanced a quick glance at Himuro. Sure enough, that stupid, annoyingly bright smile was aimed right at him. There wasn't any reason for him to look like that, since they were just fish, but at the same time, Murasakibara was glad Himuro wasn't smiling like that at anybody else. So as long as it meant he wasn't smiling that way for everybody else, Murasakibara supposed it wasn't all that bad. It would even be nice to see it again sometime. But only sparingly, since those kind of feelings were annoyinng.

"Fine. There's a pet shop near one of my favorite candy shops," Murasakibara explained, immediately thinking about what kind of candy he wanted from there. 

"Of course it's near a candy shop," Himuro chuckled. "You just want an excuse to buy more candy."

"Does it matter?" he asked. "Either way, you get a fish bowl."

Shaking his head, but still smiling, Himuro motioned towards the rest of the festival stalls.

"Come on, we're almost at the end," he pointed out. "We can pick up any other snack you want on the way."

With a shrug, Murasakibara followed alongside Himuro, satisfied they were at an understanding of whatever it was that just happened. Himuro wasn't rushing towards anything anymore. He steadily kept pace with Murasakibara, quietly taking in the views, and smiling softly every so often, usually after getting an explanation about something from Murasakibara. They casually strolled through the final stalls, with Murasakibara stopping only to tug on Himuro's sleeve when girls kept trying to draw his attention away. He was lightly admonished for his behavior, but Himuro didn't actively try to stop him from doing so, and neither did he tell him to stop. Therefore, there was nothing wrong Murrasakibara needed to pay attention to. 

They finally arrived back into the main street, where crowds were already gathering along the sides. The amount of people prevented them from getting closer, but that didn't really matter when they were taller than everybody else. Murasakiibara munched through more of his snacks, saving his candied apples for last, and by the time he finished everything but the apples, the sun had set, and the streets were dark. Then, in the distance, a single light appeared. Soon, it was joined by more and more until the streets were glowing. Excited gasps echoed around them, and though he wasn't making any sound, Himuro was leaning forward as far as he could, straining to see down the street where the lights were slowly moving towards them. Before long, the beats of Taiko drums steadily became louder, and wooden flutes accompanied them. It was all very lively, and while Murasakibara had no interest in joining the excitement, he lightly bobbed his head to the beat, and finally unwrapped his candied apple. 

"This is really something else," Himuro said, practically shouting to be heard over the crowds. "You look awfully happy right now."

"Candy apples are best when there are lanterns," he explained around a mouthful of candy coating that he was attempting to peel away from the apple.

"Is that so?" Himuro hummed thoughfully. "All these lanterns being balanced precariously down an entire street isn't interesting for you?"

No, they weren't particularly interesting to him. They made a pretty picture, but that's all it was. He was also fairly certain he would be able to balance one of those poles of lanterns easily He idly wondered if he could find one and try. Then he banished that thought with an irritated grumble. That was probably something Himuro would do, and most likely do it with far more passion than was ever necessary for anything, let alone random thought.

"They're pretty, and everything is nice to look at," Murasakibara said. "I don't get why everybody gets so worked up over it though."

Since the noise was still loud, Murasakibara couldn't hear Himuro's sigh, but he could tell by the way he dropped his shoulders. It was annoying, already knowing how to read him, and wanting to actively participate with him, but still not caring about the same thing. Murasakibara ran a hand through his hair with a scowl. Taking a large bit out of his apple, he suddenly realized something. He reached behind his back and pulled out his final snack. 

"Here," he muttered, shoving the candied apple under Himuro's nose. He startled, and not letting him say anything else stupid, Murasakibara kept going. "Candy apples are best when there are lanterns."

The light from the hundreds of lanterns illuminated everything with an orange glow, and it made the apples look brighter and sort off surreal. It was why he saved his candied apples for last. He impatiently waited for Himuro to take the candied apple, waving it under his nose. 

"Thank you, Atsushi," he said with a smile. He took the offered treat. "It is really nice, isn't it?"

Murasakibara hummed non-committedly, not interested in having a touching moment. It would just be annoying, and thus far, he has never had the desire to crush Hiimuro. He wanted to keep it that way. 

Fortunately, Himuro understood how everything was supposed to be, and refrained from saying anything else. It took him several minutes to carefully work his way through the candy coating, but eventually, he was able to take a bite. Murasakibara surreptitiously watched him out of the corner of his eye, waiting to see what he thought about the apple, not that he actually cared if Himuro liked it or not. And it wasn't that big of a deal when he nodded his head and eagerly took another large bite, even though Murasakibara was pleased to see that. It was just because he didn't want to see his candied apple go to waste.

Satisfied that the apple would be properly appreciated, Murasakibara turned his attention back to the lanterns. They really did cast a warm light over everything, and there were so many of them. It was a nice distraction from everything else, and he let himself drift along with ambience. And then he suddenly felt a light bump against his shoulder from Hiimuro, who was still munching on the apple quietly. Himuro didn't say anything, he didn't even look over at him, but he noticed that Himuro was wearing that very particular smile, and Murasakibara didn't mind at all.


End file.
